a 




Glass. \5X7; "S 

Book. 



r 5 



wha Copyn^t^ , 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT; 



[NG 

[is: 



^^ feel generous sympathy, show 
gracious courtesy; that you may be 
brave, bright and brotherly; that you 
may live simply and have a merry 
heart; that your friendships may be as 
true as the stars; that you may never 
doubt that Love rules in this world and 
that it must be victorious everywhere 
and forever. And this is but wishing 
you A Happy New Year. 



M Citric Creeb 

CJI BELIEVE that the place in which 
*$\ I live, while I live in it, should 
be regarded by me as the greatest 
place in the world ; and that, as it 
gives to me the best which it has, it 
deserves from me the best that I can 
give to it. 

I believe that my duty to my city 
and to my country is as sacred as my 
duty to my family and to my Church, 
and a part of my duty to my God. 

I believe that service of the Public 
is one test of true religion, and that 
the right use of the ballot is a Sac- 
rament as holy as the Supper of the 
Lord. 



Prelu&eg anfcr Jnterlufceg 



Books by 
AMORY H. BRADFORD, D.D. 

The Inward Light 

Cloth, 12 mo. $1,20 net ; postage ', 10 cents 

Messages of the Masters 

Boards, 16mo. 65 cents net; postage, 8 
cents 

Spiritual Lessons from the Brownings 

White leatherette, 12 mo. 30 cents net; 
postage, 5 cents 

THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 
New York 




JL^hy //. vhtctLLp^/,. 



AMORY H. BRADFORD, D.D. 

Photograph taken at the Third International 
Congregational Council, Edinburgh, 1908. 



Prelubetf anir 3lnterlubea 



BY 

AMORY H. BRADFORD 



* 



NEW YORK 

Thomas Y. Crowell Company 

PUBLISHERS 



COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY 
THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY. 

— # 



Published November, 1911. 



COMPOSITION AND ELECTROTYPE PLATES BY 
THE BOOK COMPOSITION CO., NEW YORK 



©CI.A300761 



Creeb of g>iv OMafjab 

CJ1 BELIE VE in goodness; that with- 
>JH out it human grandeur is in vain 
and human life a failure; I believe that 
goodness has the promise of the life that 
now is and of that which is to come> and 
to its realization in my own life and in the 
world I dedicate aspiration and endeavor 
in time and eternity. 

From "The Messages of the Masters " 

by Amory H. Bradford. 



Preface 

THIS book contains Dr. Bradford's 
final message to his people concerning 
the fundamentals of their common faith. 
Most of it was written during the last 
months of his forty years' pastorate in 
Montclair. It is published according to his 
own wish. He chose the title and gathered 
the material. Those who are responsible 
for its appearance at this time have per- 
formed their task as they think he would 
have performed it, had he lived. 

The members of Dr. Bradford's congre- 
gation need no preface to tell them how he 
came to express his message in these brief 
Preludes and Interludes. The wider circle 
of readers, who did not know him as he was 
at the close of his ministry, may perhaps 
welcome such a word of explanation. 

It was when physical weakness made it 
impossible for him to deliver his regular 
[vii] 



Preface 

morning sermon that he wrote the first of 
the Preludes. He expressed his purpose 
thus: "No longer being able to preach, I 
shall endeavor occasionally to suggest a few 
thoughts which may be helpful to our peo- 
ple." These were written during the fol- 
lowing months and printed in the calendar 
of the church. When he was strong enough 
he read them from the pulpit. He used to 
say that their preparation required more 
time and thought than the writing of ser- 
mons. The conciseness and clarity of their 
expression made them uniquely helpful to 
his people. 

Those who knew Dr. Bradford best, how- 
ever, value these brief messages chiefly as 
expressions of a personal religious faith that 
grew and sweetened and triumphed through 
great trial. The last months of his life were 
the grandest. He might well have spoken 
the words of St. Paul: "And He hath said 
unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for 
my power is made perfect in weakness. Most 
[viii] 



Preface 

gladly therefore will I rather glory in my 
weaknesses, that the strength of Christ may 
rest upon me. . . . For when I am weak 
then am I strong." The Preludes and In- 
terludes were written when the body was 
wasted and the spirit, venturing, found the 
Strength and Peace which are beyond all 
understanding. The Prelude on Prayer 
tells the experience of him who wrote it: 
"It is our greatest earthly privilege. With- 
out it we shall fail in the crucial hours; 
with it failure to realize the things essen- 
tial to life, like submission, strength, faith, 
courage, loyalty to duty, grace to live by 
and to die by, will be impossible. " He 
triumphed in the crucial hours. He often 
spoke of the refrain of a favorite hymn, 
"Saved by Grace," saying he had learned 
its truth in his own life. 

The prayer on page 107, which he wrote 

many years ago for use in the Sunday School, 

was answered at the end for him: "Watch 

over us durng all our years on earth, and 

[ix] 



Preface 

when we are called hence may it be with 
the assurance that Thou wilt not leave us in 
that hour, but wilt Thyself receive us into 
our Father's House, which is eternal in the 
heavens." 

Arthur Howe Bradford. 

Springfield, Massachusetts, 
October 23, 1911. 



[X] 



Contents! 

PAGE 

The Pastor's Creed 1 

The Universe 4 

God 8 

Man— the Child of God 12 

Grace 15 

Human Brotherhood 18 

Immortality 21 

The Communion of Saints 24 

The Way of the Cross 28 

Sin 34 

What is Salvation? 37 

Forsaken of God! Never! 40 

Miracles 45 

Christ the Interpreter 49 

Prayer 53 

Justification by Faith 56 

" The Passing of Hell" 59 

The Categorical Imperative 63 

Sanctification 67 
[xi] 



Content* 





PAGE 


The Kingdom 


70 


The Church 


75 


The Holy Spirit 


78 


Conscience 


82 


The Lord's Day 


85 


A Christmas Interlude 


89 


Lincoln's Birthday 


92 


Vacations 


94 


A Word to Graduates 


98 


A Word to the Children 


102 


The Everlasting Arms 


105 


Prayer 


107 



[ xii ] 



CJje Pastor's Creeb 

THE people have a right to know what 
truths the Pastor regards as most im- 
portant and imperative in religious thought 
and life. Stated as briefly and as clearly as 
he knows how to express it, his Creed is as 
follows : 

I believe in the universe — that all things 
and events are related and the end will be 
found harmonious; I believe in God — the 
Spirit who pervades the universe ; I believe 
in Man — the child of God and possessing 
His nature ; I believe in human imperfection 
and guilt; I believe that the grace of God 
as it is revealed in Jesus Christ is free and 
for all, and sometime will be victorious; I 
believe in the universal Human Brother- 
hood and in mutual service; I believe that 
the realization of righteousness in humanity 
is the Kingdom of God and that when " the 
times are ripe " it will include all the chil- 
dren of men; I believe in personal Im- 

[ i ] 



Cfje Pastor'* Creeb 

mortality; I believe that in the Bible, 
in the Creation, and in the Spirit of 
man, God has revealed all the truth that 
man needs to live by; I believe in the 
right and the duty of each person to decide 
for himself as to what is true and, there- 
fore, authoritative; I believe that true re- 
ligion is the possession of the Spirit of 
Christ, whom I gladly confess as Saviour 
and Lord. For the rest I believe that all 
men live and more and more have their 
being in the love of God, that from it they 
can never escape and that at last it will 
everywhere and forever prevail. 

To the above Creed I append the follow- 
ing notes : 

The key to all my thinking about religion 
is this phrase: Jesus Christ is the Suffi- 
cient Interpreter of God to man and of man 
to himself. 

Many other things I believe, but these 
are the truths which both inspire and rule 
my thought and action. 
[ 2 ] 



3Ti)e Pastor'* Creefcr 

To this Confession of Faith which is in- 
dividual and, therefore, imperfect, may 
God add His blessing. Amen. 



[ 3 ] 



Cfje Umbettfe 

1 BELIEVE in the Universe— that all 
things and all events are related and 
that in the end they will be found to be har- 
monious. 

The Universe is a discovery of modern 
science, not a Biblical doctrine; none the 
less, however, it is one phase of the Divine 
revelation. 

What is meant by the Universe ? Every- 
thing that is, from the atom to the constel- 
lations. All forces, all laws, all processes, 
all persons, all creatures are related to one 
another. The nature and purpose of no one 
part can be antagonistic to those of any 
other part, or of all the parts together. The 
creation constitutes a unity. There is no 
discord in the Universe. What is evil when 
taken by itself becomes a blessing when 
blended with the sum of things. In the in- 
finities all is harmony and all is good. 

What follows from the conception of the 

[4] 



Cfje Entoersfe 

Universe? Large interpretations of God, 
of man, of redemption, of law, of the goal 
of history, are now imperative. 

The Deity is related to the Universe: 
therefore He is not concerned with the in- 
terests of one people, one race, one star, 
more than with those of another. 

God is greater than the Universe : there- 
fore His methods should not be compared 
with those of human tyrants and limited 
governments. Words like torment and ex- 
piation sound strongly out of place in His 
presence. 

God is greater than the Universe : there- 
fore redemption, like gravitation, is a cos- 
mic fact and is related to all time, condi- 
tions, races and classes. As the Universe 
must be the best conceivable, so men must 
be perfected with it; for it would not be 
perfect if any individual of all its masses 
were to be forever imperfect. 

The conception of the Universe enlarges, 
rationalizes and glorifies the doctrine of 
[ 5 ] 



Cfje Umbersfe 

God, and compels confidence as to the final 
condition of humanity; because the fate of 
the meanest man and the destiny of all 
things are linked to the purposes of Him 
whose ways are past finding out, but who 
has chosen to disclose Himself in the gran- 
deur of great mountains, in the light of 
shining stars, and in the souls of humble 
men. 

Science teaches that the Universe is re- 
vealed as to its processes in laws, forces, 
cosmic movements; but Christianity goes 
farther and shows that its inmost secret and 
spiritual significance are manifested in pa- 
rental love. 

Science has discovered the Universe, but 
the Christian revelation has contributed a 
grander truth, for it has revealed the Uni- 
verse as focalized in the Cross — that is, in 
the love reaching to sacrifice. 

Be afraid of small and unworthy doc- 
trines of God, human redemption, man's 
destiny. That which is finest and best in 
[6] 



Cfje Umbersfe 

the Creation cannot end in failure. He 
who dwells in the splendor of setting suns 
can do nothing unworthy of His infinity and 
eternity. 

God, man, history, this world and all 
worlds, should be interpreted in the light 
of the Universe. 



[ 7 ] 



I BELIEVE in God— the Spirit who per- 
vades the Universe. The conception of 
the Universe necessitates a large conception 
of God. He is Spirit and, therefore, a per- 
son. By that I mean that He is intellect, 
affection and will, united in a single self- 
consciousness. 

But where is that Spirit? He cannot be 
outside the Universe, for that includes all 
that is. If He were outside the Universe, 
even though above it, there would be no 
unity, but one realm of matter and one of 
spirit and still another of infinite space. 

If God is not outside the Universe, then 
He is within it; but how? The only way 
that I can answer is to say that He pervades 
the Universe as the spirit of man pervades 
his body. The Universe is the body, or the 
manifestation of God. This statement re- 
quires certain other statements. 
[ 8 ] 



God is greater than the Universe even 
though He dwells within it. 

The spirit of man uses and controls his 
body and through the doors of imagination 
and memory and by means of his creative 
faculties, escapes from it whenever he will. 
As man is greater than his body, so God 
transcends His body. The Universe is in- 
finite; and God is past finding out. From 
this fact has grown the doctrine of the Trin- 
ity, which is more a doctrine of philosophy 
than of the Scriptures, but none the less 
true for that. 

God the Infinite, the Universal, the Al- 
mighty, is God the Father: 

God revealing Himself in the Creation, 
in history, and in humanity is God the Son : 

God in personal relations with the spirit 
of men is God the Spirit : 

There is but one God, and He exists in 
a threefold relation, or manifestation. This 
is the Doctrine of the Trinity as stated in 
the Articles of Faith of this Church, and as 

[ 9 ] 



devoutly and gratefully confessed by its 
pastor. 

The Universe reveals the Deity in law 
and in force, but the Christian Revelation 
reveals His character. While it recognizes 
the truth that is written in oceans, moun- 
tains, stars and stellar systems, it is espe- 
cially concerned with the moral order; and 
that it interprets in the light of human love, 
and in human love in its perfect manifesta- 
tion which is seen in Jesus Christ. 

To the Muezzin cry of Mohammedan- 
ism — " God is great," it adds with a fervor 
still more intense — " God is love." In the 
faith of the Christian the Universe comes 
to its finest flower and richest fruit in love 
that shrinks not at sacrifice. 

Therefore, when a Christian is asked 
about God, he replies : I believe He is the 
Spirit who pervades the Universe : 

I believe that He exists in a threefold re- 
lation which is called Father, Son and Holy 
Spirit. 

[ 10 ] 



<$0& 

I believe that all laws are administered 
by love, that all the stars are in the leashes 
of love, that history is the expression of 
love, that every human being will spend all 
his days in love, and that from the love 
which was manifested in Jesus Christ, no 
one in time or eternity will ever escape. 

The Heavens declare the glory of God: 
God is love: He that dwelleth in love, 
dwelleth in God and knoweth God. 



[ ii ] 



jflte— tfje Cfjtlb of OSob 

I BELIEVE in man the child of God and 
as possessing His nature. This means 
the child of God by creation, not merely by 
adoption, although he who pleases God by 
a holy life is peculiarly the child of His 
favor. Man derives his being from God 
and, therefore, is His child. 

What is meant by possessing His nature? 
Each human child possesses the nature of 
his parents, physically, morally and intel- 
lectually. As God dwells in and expresses 
Himself through the universe which is His 
body, so man dwells in and expresses him- 
self through a physical body. But God is 
greater than His body. He is a personal 
spirit ; in this respect also man has the na- 
ture of God, for man is a spirit and tran- 
scends his body. 

A great theologian has said — " The dif- 
ference between man and God is not one of 
nature but of miles." By that he meant 
[ 12 ] 



JfltSan— tfje CJnlb of <®ob 

that thought, love, will, in man, are exactly 
the same in kind as in God; only that in one 
they are limited, while in the other they are 
unlimited. " God created man in His own 
image. " The human being most nearly 
perfect affords the clearest possible concep- 
tion of the being of God. The difference 
between man and God is ethical, not meta- 
physical. If the above is true, certain con- 
clusions are self-evident. 

Man as man should be reverenced. If 
we worship God, we should at least revere 
men. Jesus identified Himself with the 
poor, the outcast, the criminal, and made 
service of them service of Him. 

The body is the temple, or the dwelling- 
place of God, and should be treated with 
the respect which belongs to divine persons 
and places. 

If man is the child of God, then discrimi- 
nations between men based on wealth, class, 
race or color are a violation of a universal 
and elemental fact. 

1 13 ] 



I BELIEVE in the Universe— that all 
things and all events are related and 
that in the end they will be found to be har- 
monious. 

The Universe is a discovery of modern 
science, not a Biblical doctrine; none the 
less, however, it is one phase of the Divine 
revelation. 

What is meant by the Universe ? Every- 
thing that is, from the atom to the constel- 
lations. All forces, all laws, all processes, 
all persons, all creatures are related to one 
another. The nature and purpose of no one 
part can be antagonistic to those of any 
other part, or of all the parts together. The 
creation constitutes a unity. There is no 
discord in the Universe. What is evil when 
taken by itself becomes a blessing when 
blended with the sum of things. In the in- 
finities all is harmony and all is good. 

What follows from the conception of the 
[4] 



Cfje Entoersfe 

Universe? Large interpretations of God, 
of man, of redemption, of law, of the goal 
of history, are now imperative. 

The Deity is related to the Universe: 
therefore He is not concerned with the in- 
terests of one people, one race, one star, 
more than with those of another. 

God is greater than the Universe : there- 
fore His methods should not be compared 
with those of human tyrants and limited 
governments. Words like torment and ex- 
piation sound strongly out of place in His 
presence. 

God is greater than the Universe : there- 
fore redemption, like gravitation, is a cos- 
mic fact and is related to all time, condi- 
tions, races and classes. As the Universe 
must be the best conceivable, so men must 
be perfected with it; for it would not be 
perfect if any individual of all its masses 
were to be forever imperfect. 

The conception of the Universe enlarges, 
rationalizes and glorifies the doctrine of 
[ 5 ] 



God, and compels confidence as to the final 
condition of humanity; because the fate of 
the meanest man and the destiny of all 
things are linked to the purposes of Him 
whose ways are past finding out, but who 
has chosen to disclose Himself in the gran- 
deur of great mountains, in the light of 
shining stars, and in the souls of humble 
men. 

Science teaches that the Universe is re- 
vealed as to its processes in laws, forces, 
cosmic movements; but Christianity goes 
farther and shows that its inmost secret and 
spiritual significance are manifested in pa- 
rental love. 

Science has discovered the Universe, but 
the Christian revelation has contributed a 
grander truth, for it has revealed the Uni- 
verse as focalized in the Cross — that is, in 
the love reaching to sacrifice. 

Be afraid of small and unworthy doc- 
trines of God, human redemption, man's 
destiny. That which is finest and best in 
[ 6 ] 



Cfje &ttiber£e 

the Creation cannot end in failure. He 
who dwells in the splendor of setting suns 
can do nothing unworthy of His infinity and 
eternity. 

God, man, history, this world and all 
worlds, should be interpreted in the light 
of the Universe. 



[ 7 ] 



I BELIEVE in God — the Spirit who per- 
vades the Universe. The conception of 
the Universe necessitates a large conception 
of God. He is Spirit and, therefore, a per- 
son. By that I mean that He is intellect, 
affection and will, united in a single self- 
consciousness. 

But where is that Spirit? He cannot be 
outside the Universe, for that includes all 
that is. If He were outside the Universe, 
even though above it, there would be no 
unity, but one realm of matter and one of 
spirit and still another of infinite space. 

If God is not outside the Universe, then 
He is within it; but how? The only way 
that I can answer is to say that He pervades 
the Universe as the spirit of man pervades 
his body. The Universe is the body, or the 
manifestation of God. This statement re- 
quires certain other statements. 
[ 8 ] 



God is greater than the Universe even 
though He dwells within it. 

The spirit of man uses and controls his 
body and through the doors of imagination 
and memory and by means of his creative 
faculties, escapes from it whenever he will. 
As man is greater than his body, so God 
transcends His body. The Universe is in- 
finite; and God is past finding out. From 
this fact has grown the doctrine of the Trin- 
ity, which is more a doctrine of philosophy 
than of the Scriptures, but none the less 
true for that. 

God the Infinite, the Universal, the Al- 
mighty, is God the Father: 

God revealing Himself in the Creation, 
in history, and in humanity is God the Son : 

God in personal relations with the spirit 
of men is God the Spirit : 

There is but one God, and He exists in 

a threefold relation, or manifestation. This 

is the Doctrine of the Trinity as stated in 

the Articles of Faith of this Church, and as 

[ 9 ] 



<0ob 

devoutly and gratefully confessed by its 
pastor. 

The Universe reveals the Deity in law 
and in force, but the Christian Revelation 
reveals His character. While it recognizes 
the truth that is written in oceans, moun- 
tains, stars and stellar systems, it is espe- 
cially concerned with the moral order; and 
that it interprets in the light of human love, 
and in human love in its perfect manifesta- 
tion which is seen in Jesus Christ. 

To the Muezzin cry of Mohammedan- 
ism- — " God is great," it adds with a fervor 
still more intense — " God is love." In the 
faith of the Christian the Universe comes 
to its finest flower and richest fruit in love 
that shrinks not at sacrifice. 

Therefore, when a Christian is asked 
about God, he replies : I believe He is the 
Spirit who pervades the Universe : 

I believe that He exists in a threefold re- 
lation which is called Father, Son and Holy 
Spirit. 

[ 10 ] 



I believe that all laws are administered 
by love, that all the stars are in the leashes 
of love, that history is the expression of 
love, that every human being will spend all 
his days in love, and that from the love 
which was manifested in Jesus Christ, no 
one in time or eternity will ever escape. 

The Heavens declare the glory of God: 
God is love: He that dwelleth in love, 
dwelleth in God and knoweth God. 



[ ii ] 



«pan-tfje Cijtlb of <$ob 

I BELIEVE in man the child of God and 
as possessing His nature. This means 
the child of God by creation, not merely by 
adoption, although he who pleases God by 
a holy life is peculiarly the child of His 
favor. Man derives his being from God 
and, therefore, is His child. 

What is meant by possessing His nature ? 
Each human child possesses the nature of 
his parents, physically, morally and intel- 
lectually. As God dwells in and expresses 
Himself through the universe which is His 
body, so man dwells in and expresses him- 
self through a physical body. But God is 
greater than His body. He is a personal 
spirit; in this respect also man has the na- 
ture of God, for man is a spirit and tran- 
scends his body. 

A great theologian has said — " The dif- 
ference between man and God is not one of 
nature but of miles." By that he meant 

[ 12 ] 



j^an— tfje Cfntti of <$ob 

that thought, love, will, in man, are exactly 
the same in kind as in God; only that in one 
they are limited, while in the other they are 
unlimited. " God created man in His own 
image." The human being most nearly 
perfect affords the clearest possible concep- 
tion of the being of God. The difference 
between man and God is ethical, not meta- 
physical. If the above is true, certain con- 
clusions are self-evident. 

Man as man should be reverenced. If 
we worship God, we should at least revere 
men. Jesus identified Himself with the 
poor, the outcast, the criminal, and made 
service of them service of Him. 

The body is the temple, or the dwelling- 
place of God, and should be treated with 
the respect which belongs to divine persons 
and places. 

If man is the child of God, then discrimi- 
nations between men based on wealth, class, 
race or color are a violation of a universal 
and elemental fact. 

1 13 ] 



Mm— tfje Cfjtlb of <®ob 

If man has the nature of God, it is easy 
to understand that all things work together 
for his good in time and eternity ; and that 
his salvation and moral perfection are in- 
evitable. 

If man has the divine nature, then that 
man who has that nature in the fullest de- 
gree will afford the completest revelation 
of God. As holiness, or righteousness, is 
the glory of the divine character, it must 
also be regarded as the perfection of the 
human character. 

Because God is holy, and because Jesus 
Christ was the perfect man, we believe that 
He, as no other human being ever did, 
manifested in history the eternal and abso- 
lute God. 

Concerning this subject we speak mod- 
estly, for we know only in part; but this we 
do know: God is our Father, all men are 
our brothers, and all, individually and col- 
lectively, live and move and have their 
being in love. 

1 14 ] 



<$race 

I BELIEVE that the Grace of God as it 
is revealed in Jesus Christ is free to all 
and for all, and will sometime be victorious. 

Christianity is distinguished by the promi- 
nence which it gives to Grace. 

Jesus Christ is preeminently the revela- 
tion and manifestation of the Grace of 
God. 

What is Grace ? It is love, service, sacri- 
fice, for those who deserve nothing and can 
give nothing in return. 

Men are sinners. They deserve punish- 
ment so far as their wrongdoing is the re- 
sult of their own choice. But, according to 
the Christian Revelation, the love of God 
is for all without regard to what they de- 
serve. Justice says — treat men according to 
their merit; Grace says — they are children 
of God and will always be treated as such. 
That does not mean that the bad deserve, 
or will be rewarded, as good; but it does 

[ 15 ] 



aerate 

mean that the Father will never forsake His 
child, but will seek for it until He finds it; 
not because the child is entitled to such 
treatment, but because God cannot do other- 
wise. 

If it be said that this is a universe of law 
and that Grace implies the suspension of 
law, the reply is — this universe of law is to 
be interpreted by Jesus Christ. If the re- 
sult of breaking one law is suffering, the 
result of repentance, which is obedience to 
another law, is forgiveness. Thus Grace 
may be harmonious with the order of the 
universe. 

The heavens declare the glory of God; 
history makes His purposes known; forces 
are the manifestations of His power, but 
Jesus Christ is the revelation and imper- 
sonation of the Grace of God. 

That revelation and impersonation makes 

it clear that God is good to all; That the 

divine love is given according to need and 

not according to desert; That no payment 

[ 16 ] 



aerate 

except ceasing to do evil and learning to do 
well is ever asked in return ; That none are 
so degraded or so poor as to be overlooked 
or neglected; That the deeper the degrada- 
tion, the more persistent becomes the re- 
demptive service: 

That He who has begun a good work for 
individuals and the race, will not consent to 
be thwarted, but will continue it until the 
vicious are purified, until the lost are found, 
until the lonely recognize the great Com- 
panion, until sin disappears and love every- 
where and forever prevails. 



c 17 ] 



t^uman Sfrrotfjerfjoob 

I BELIEVE in the universal Human 
Brotherhood. The Brotherhood of Man 
is the doctrine for the Twentieth Century 
to realize in institutions, laws, and in all 
social and political relations. 

It has long been an ideal; the time has 
come for it to take form in life. 

The Brotherhood of Man follows inevi- 
tably the Fatherhood of God. If all have 
the same Father, all must be brothers; con- 
versely no Fatherhood, no Brotherhood. 
Brotherhood distinguishes the teachings of 
Jesus and in them is second in prominence 
only to the doctrine of God. 

What is Brotherhood? The state in 
which men realize that because all human 
beings have the same parentage, all have 
by nature the same rights, and should have 
equal opportunities; it is the state in which 
men love their fellow-men as they love 
[ 18 ] 



themselves, and do unto one another as they 
would be done by. 

What follows faith in Brotherhood? 
Those who have that faith recognize that 
all men, as men, are sacred : That while all 
have the same rights and should have equal 
opportunities for " life, liberty and the 
pursuit of happiness," they are no more 
equal in other ways than are individuals in 
a family who differ in stature, in intellect, in 
tastes and in strength: 

Distinctions of race, color, wealth, rank, 
are hostile to Christianity and to the nature 
of things ; the only rational discriminations 
between men are those based on character, 
which is the result of a succession of choices. 
Discriminations based on what God makes 
men to be reflect on Him, and are wicked; 
discriminations based on what man does for 
himself are proper and in harmony with the 
divine law which says that what is sown 
shall be reaped. 

Brotherhood is the ideal social condition. 

t 19 ] 



i^uman ^rotfjerijoob 

Communism is inferior, for its rewards do 
not recognize differences in character; so- 
cialism is inferior because it is an effort to 
do by law what can best be achieved by 
love : even Patriotism is inferior, because it 
allows geographical lines to obscure the 
divine origin of humanity. The realization 
of brotherhood will be the Kingdom of 
God; " The one far-off Divine Event to- 
ward which the whole Creation moves." 
The Golden Text of all who believe in 
Brotherhood is this: "A new command- 
ment give I unto you, that ye love one an- 
other even as I have loved you." 



[ 20 ] 



Slmmortalttp 

I BELIEVE in Personal Immortality. 
What constitutes Personality? Intel- 
lect, sensibility, will, united in a single self- 
consciousness. Man knows himself to be a 
thinking, feeling, choosing being, therefore 
he is a person. The personality, not the 
body, persists and survives death. Person- 
ality exists in a recognizable form now, and 
it will always do so. Immortality implies 
that all that makes man a person, will con- 
tinue after the death of the body. Then 
the person will continue to think, to re- 
member, to love, and to make choices. Im- 
mortality cannot be demonstrated, but it is 
believed in for valid reasons. Among these 
reasons are the following: 

In every land and time men have believed 
themselves to be immortal; and what has 
been always and everywhere believed, is 
presumptively true: 

It is inconceivable that the best and 

[ 21 ] 



3Immortalttp 

noblest in creation is to be perfected only 
to be destroyed at the last. Browning has 
well said, " What God made best cannot 
end worst." 

Jesus distinctly taught that death does 
not touch the spirit. He always spoke of 
death as sleep, as the door by which man 
passes from this earthly room to another 
and brighter room in the Father's house : 

The greatest thinkers of the ages, like 
Plato and Paul, have believed in immor- 
tality: 

Jesus, after having died, rose again, and 
His ministry since His death has been more 
beneficent and blessed than it was while He 
was in the body : 

Man's existence requires for its justifica- 
tion a longer period than his life in the 
body. Immortality is the only adequate 
explanation of life. 

Most lives are incomplete here; another 
stage of possible growth is needed in order 
that the injustice and apparent oppression 

[ 22 ] 



Slmmortalttp 

of this life may be balanced by blessing. 
Evolution prophesies an eternity of growth. 

For these and many other reasons we be- 
lieve in personal immortality. 

We do not dogmatize but we have 
faith — 

That spirits will grow intellectually and 
morally forever and forever: 

That spiritual bodies will be quite as 
easily recognized as bodies of flesh: 

That those who go from us continue to 
love and to serve those who remain behind : 

That those who have passed through the 
gates of death will suffer no more, sin no 
more, die no more, but move ever onward 
and upward, toward the perfection of God, 
until at last they shall be one with Him. 

I believe in the Life Everlasting. 



[ 23 ] 



Cfje Communion of ^ainte 

44 T BELIEVE in the Communion of 
JL Saints." Thus Christians of ages have 
confessed their faith in the church universal. 
What does that article of the Apostle's 
Creed mean ? It means, primarily, that all 
Christians have their life from a common 
fountain of life, and that that fountain is 
Jesus Christ. All Christians of all churches, 
of all nations, of all colors and creeds, of 
all ages and lands are what they are because 
they possess identically the same life. The 
manifestations are many; the life is the 
same. The glory of the Spring-time ap- 
pears now in grass, now in budding trees, 
now in fields of blossoms, and, once more, 
in the air burdened with perfume; but 
blades of grass, and buds and blossoms and 
perfumes, are all manifestations of the en- 
ergy which fills the spaces and which pul- 
sates from the sun. In like manner the 
severity of Puritanism, the order of Angli- 
[ 24 ] 



Cfje Communion of ^atnte 

canism, the fervor of Methodism, and the 
philanthropy of those who go about doing 
good are the fruitage of the spiritual en- 
ergy of which Christ is the source. 

Christians have a common ideal, and that 
ideal is Jesus Christ. The Life is the Light 
of men. In our Lord may be seen a liv- 
ing manifestation of the Divine purpose for 
every human soul. We may not know what 
God intends we should do, or where He 
wishes us to go, but what He wishes us to 
be is clearly revealed in our Lord. The 
Christian Church may be sadly divided; its 
divisions may hinder rather than help the 
kingdom, but it has a common ideal and 
that ideal is the mind of Christ in its devo- 
tion to God, in its passion for reality, and in 
the service of humanity. There is not one 
ideal for the rich and another for the poor, 
not one for heathen lands and another for 
civilized communities, but all of every land 
and time are called to reach the stature of 
the fulness of Christ. 

1 25 i 



Cfje Communion of <£atnte 

All Christians are embraced in a common 
love. The love of God is limited neither by 
national nor racial boundaries; it takes no 
account of caste or of family lines. " The 
love of God is broader than the measure of 
man's mind." All good men are included 
in the nobility of heaven; and women and 
children are honored equally with men. 
In Christ the Hindoo is the brother of the 
Athenian and the Negro is of the same spir- 
itual lineage as the graduate of Harvard or 
the Oxford Don. In Him all are one. 

All Christians have a common destiny. 
They are intended for immortality, and for 
heaven. " Part of the host Have crossed 
the flood and part are crossing now." The 
gates into heaven will swing wide before all 
who have the mind of Christ and who love 
and serve their fellow-men. At the last 
the White Robes will be found cov- 
ering all physical deformities and pe- 
culiarities. One is our Master, even 
Christ, and all who follow Him are 
[ 26 ] 



Cfje Communion of ^atnte 

members one of another and brethren of 
our Lord. 

11 I believe in the Communion of Saints," 
that all who are truly Christians have a 
common life, common ideals, that they are 
engaged in a common service, that they are 
included in a common love, and that they 
are moving toward union with God whicH 
is the final home of redeemed souls in time 
and eternity. 



[ 27 ] 



Cfje Wap of tfje Crosfc 

If any man will come after me, let him deny 
himself, and take up his cross and follow me. 

—Mark 8:34. 

IS the way of the Cross a new way of life 
which was opened by Jesus, or did He 
walk in an old way because it was the only 
one which led to the goal which He was 
seeking? The Way of the Cross is as old 
as the universe, and it has been trodden reg- 
ularly by all who have walked on spiritual 
levels and by all who have served God and 
their fellow-men. Why are all the finest 
fruits of character and the noblest achieve- 
ments in service to be had only after strug- 
gle and suffering? It is vain to inquire. 
The fact is evident ; the reason is a mystery. 
The only way that leads to life is the Way 
of the Cross. Many truths may be illus- 
trated which cannot be explained. This is 
one of them. 

Jesus loved His fellow-men as perhaps 

[ 28 ] 



Cfje Way of tfje Cross! 

no one ever loved before or since. Love 
always carries its cross. The sweetest and 
dearest of privileges goes hand in hand 
with the possibility of sorest suffering. 
Love always puts itself in the place of the 
person loved. It makes his joys and sor- 
rows its own. A stone excites no sympathy, 
and a stranger very little; but when a 
friend or a child is in pain, we suffer also — 
because we love. Thus it comes to pass that 
the one who loves most may have to suffer 
most. Because Jesus loved men, He had to 
die for them. If He had not cared for 
them, His heart would not have broken for 
them. If we would follow Jesus, we must 
learn to love those who will return ingrati- 
tude. The Cross is in the middle of the 
way in which travel all who love. But that 
did not cause Jesus to turn back, and it will 
not discourage or daunt any soul that truly 
loves, because love is not afraid of death. 

For Jesus the Way of Duty was the Way 
of the Cross. He saw distinctly that He 
[ 29 ] 



Cfje Wu? of tfje Crosfc 

was called to the service of His fellow- 
men. He heard the call of duty; but He 
knew full well that if He responded to that 
call He would excite the antagonism of the 
official classes, and the hate of those who 
were satisfied with things as they were. No 
animosity is more inconsiderate or virulent 
than that of a smug orthodoxy. Jesus had 
a duty to perform. He had to encounter 
opposition. That meant that those who 
should help would oppose and persecute. 
He took His life in His hands and walked 
steadily forward. As a consequence He 
met misunderstanding, then abuse, then 
persecution, then death. Loyalty to duty 
usually requires the giving up of many 
things which are counted precious. For 
John Huss and Savonarola it led through 
martyr fires ; for Jesus it led to Calvary; for 
all it will lead to the sacrifice of something 
dear; but the sacrifice will not be compar- 
able with the joy which follows the con- 
sciousness of doing and being right. The 
[ 30 ] 



Cfje Way of tfje Crotfg 

Way of Duty is the Way of the 
Cross, — but there is satisfaction in no 
other way. 

For Jesus the Way of Growth was the 
Way of the Cross. Jesus grew as others 
grow. He was a larger and wiser man 
when He was crucified than when He dis- 
puted with the Doctors in the Temple. He 
learned obedience by the things which He 
suffered. His patience, His sympathy, His 
world-wide love, were developed in the 
school of experience. The pains of growth 
are the price which has to be paid for 
growth. Those who have suffered most 
usually are most sympathetic; those who 
have been most insulted are most forbear- 
ing; those who have wept for wayward chil- 
dren can best console others whose hearts 
carry similar burdens ; those who have lost 
their beloved are quickest heeded by others 
who mourn. It is not right to say that sor- 
rows are sent to make growth possible; but 
it is true that those who choose growth in 

1 31 ] 



Cfje Wap of tfje €vqs& 

moral character and spiritual knowledge, 
rather than wealth or pleasure, must deny 
themselves many things that human nature 
craves, and be willing to bear burdens and 
carry sorrows. But such growth for those 
who discern real values is more precious 
than rubies. 

The Way of Salvation is the Way of the 
Cross. Jesus could not save men without 
suffering for them. Out of His suffering 
emerged His desire to save. He saw their 
sins and sorrows; they burdened His heart. 
He could not rest, He could not live, until 
He had made salvation possible. The 
Cross is the symbol of the fact that God 
saves men because He first suffers for them. 
If we would save men we must take them 
as they are, and do for them as they are, 
whether they are agreeable, or whether we 
are appreciated or not. There is no privi- 
lege like the privilege of giving our best for 
others as Jesus gave His life. This God is 
doing all the time; and this all Godlike 
[ 32 ] 



Cfje Way of tfje Cross 

souls are doing. For those who did not 
care for Him Jesus died; and for those who 
need moral cleansing and spiritual illumina- 
tion we must be willing to suffer and die. 
The whole church ought to be in partner- 
ship with Christ in the work of salvation. 
According to our ability and opportunity 
we should be Saviours; and we shall be 
when we see men as Jesus saw them, and 
give ourselves to them as He gave Himself. 

The Way of the Cross is a Royal Way. 
It is the Way along which saints and heroes 
walk : there is a joy for those who are found 
therein, for they march as those who are 
moving to victory. No one should seek 
crosses to bear; but no one should be dis- 
couraged when he finds himself in the Way 
of the Cross, because the Way of the Cross 
is the Way in which are found — 

All loving souls : All men who are loyal 
to duty : All who are growing morally and 
spiritually: All who are helping to save 
their fellow-men. 

[ 33 ] 



THE darkest of all human problems is 
that of sin, or moral evil. 

If it could be explained as mere igno- 
rance, or imperfect development, the mys- 
tery would not be so sad; but it is always 
attended by consciousness of guilt. Guilt is 
ill-desert which accompanies wrongdoing. 
We not only feel that we are weak, but we 
know that we have done what we ought not 
to have done. Those who do what they 
ought not to do commit sin. 

All human beings need help from above 
to enable them to rise above ignorance and 
imperfection and to avoid wrong choices, — 
to be what they ought to be and to do what 
they ought to do. Concerning this fact 
there is little difference of opinion. 

In part sin is the result of imperfect de- 
velopment. The flesh hampers and hinders 
the spirit; but there is something more. The 
spirit goes back and chooses selfish and sen- 

[ 34 ] 



sual things. That shows that while sin may 
be in part the result of incomplete evolu- 
tion, in essence it is the result of conscious 
choice. No man feels guilty when he is 
compelled to do wrong, but only when he 
chooses to do wrong. 

The state of imperfect development and 
ignorance is evil, but it is not sinful; the 
conscious choice by a free spirit of any 
course which is known to be wrong is sin. 

Do not blame yourself for your inherited 
tendencies to wrongdoing; responsibility for 
them belongs elsewhere. Do blame your- 
self if you yield to an evil tendency and 
do what your moral nature tells you is not 
right. 

All men are imperfect and ignorant ; but 
all have the power of choice and none are 
compelled to do wrong. The worst man is 
the one who yields to his inherited tenden- 
cies to evil; the best man is the one who 
conquers them. 

Sin is the choice to do what is known, 

[ 35 ] 



or believed, to be wrong; goodness is the 
choice to do what is known, or believed, to 
be right. 

It is not important that any should know 
where sin came from, but it is of supreme 
importance that all should know how it 
may be escaped. This knowledge is sup- 
plied by the Christian revelation. 



[ 36 1 



WW fe ^atoatton? 

SALVATION is the possession of the 
spirit of Christ. That Spirit will mani- 
fest itself in two ways, both ethical, and 
neither one emotional. The Spirit of Christ 
has relation to man as an individual, and to 
men in society. He who has that spirit 
thinks as Jesus thought and acts from mo- 
tives akin to His ; he is pure, true and right 
in thought and conduct, and is ruled by love 
in all his relations to others. He who has 
that spirit is right for this world and for all 
worlds. Salvation is simply being right. 
Salvation is certified by character. " By 
their fruits ye shall know them." 

Salvation is a growth, not a sudden 
achievement. A man is regarded as saved 
from the time he has bowed his will to the 
will of Christ, or chosen to live the good 
life. The beginner is judged by the goal 
toward which he is pressing. 

A man is an American citizen as soon as 
[ 37 ] 



Wfat te £atoation? 

he is naturalized, but he ought to be a bet- 
ter one twenty years later; so a man is saved 
the instant in which he chooses the good 
life, but he ought to be a better man twenty 
years later. 

Saved from what? From imperfection, 
from ignorance, from sensuality, from self- 
ishness, from being wrong. 

Saved to what? To being right, there- 
fore to the approval of God now and for- 
ever. 

How may one be saved? By accepting 
either consciously, or unconsciously, the 
teachings of Jesus as to man, as to duty, 
and as to God ; and then honestly trying to 
live by them. All the rest is done for us. 
There remains nothing more for any one 
to do. But how about failures and sins? 
They are to be left where Jesus leaves 
them — with the love of our Heavenly 
Father. 

What relation has death to Salvation? 
No more than any other event of our exist- 
[ 38 ] 



WW t* ^attmtton? 

ence. He who is saved here and now is 
saved everywhere and forever. 

Is not the possibility of being saved lim- 
ited to this life? Such is not the teachings 
of the Scriptures. Without unmistakable 
divine teaching it is impossible for thinking 
men to believe such a doctrine. It is enough 
for us to know that we may be saved now ; 
speculation as to the future is idle. Those 
who have the Spirit of Christ are saved. 
That spirit is freely given to all who cease 
to do evil, learn to do well, and trust them- 
selves and all their interests to the love 
which is at the heart of the Universe. Sal- 
vation is for eternity as well as for time ; it 
is from God and prepares for God. 



[ 39 1 



Jf or&tat of <$ob ! ^eber ! 

44]i TY God, My God, why hast Thou 
-LVA forsaken me? " 

This is an astonishing saying because of 
the speaker, because of the experience 
which it indicated, and still more because it 
was not true. Is it irreverent to say that our 
Lord deliberately and with deep earnestness 
spoke words which were untrue? He felt 
forsaken of God but He was not, and no 
one else ever has been or ever will be. 
These bitter words impress a few important 
lessons. 

Great trials often obscure the sight and 
falsify the judgment of the wisest and best. 
For a moment the clouds were so dense that 
even Jesus could not see the sun; but the 
sun never ceased to shine. Physical pain 
and mental anguish alike weaken the 
body and wear the nerves. Mental and 
spiritual depression are sure to follow. 
Jesus had seen Calvary from afar. 
[ 40 ] 



iforsafeen of <®ob! J^eber! 

That wore Him somewhat; then con- 
stant misunderstanding and blame wearied 
Him more; then came the mockery of 
the trial, and that was followed by 
the disloyalty of His disciples. At last 
the shame of the condemnation, the 
exhaustion from carrying His cross, and 
finally the agony of the crucifixion com- 
pleted His undoing. He collapsed. For a 
moment He in whom God dwelt as in no 
other imagined that He was forsaken of 
God. 

This bit of history ought to encourage 
those who are less nearly perfect than our 
Lord. If He had His moment of spiritual 
collapse, we need not hope entirely to 
escape. Freedom from such a feeling is no 
sign of special greatness or goodness. 
Nights have their uses as well as days. The 
soul with no dark hours is the soul which 
never grows. Whom the Lord loveth He 
chasteneth. Many of the noblest men who 
have ever lived have at times seemed to be 

1 41 ] 



forsaken of God. The lines written of 
Cowper — 

"To the Christian's Cross of Hope 
His hopeless hands were clinging," 

have been true of other and more com- 
monplace men. Do not give up loyalty to 
your ideal because you seem to be deserted. 
Such trials usually result from physical 
causes. If Jesus, Paul, Augustine, John 
Howard, William Cowper and Frederick 
W. Robertson often felt that God was no 
longer in His heaven, you and I probably 
will not escape such depression. 

But in this instance Jesus was mistaken, 
and so have all been who have imagined 
that they were forsaken of God. No one 
ever has been forsaken by Him and no one 
ever will be. What says the Scripture? 
11 1 will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." 
With all reverence let it be said — God can- 
not forsake any one; for even God cannot 
get out of His universe, or be in one part 
[ 42 ] 



JFortfafeen of <®ob! Metier! 

of it less truly than in another. He is 
always near to all because neither He nor 
we can go elsewhere. 

" But He may cease to be pleased with 
the actions of men ! " True ! But that 
does not imply that He has ceased to love. 
" 1 have loved thee with an everlasting 
love." Everything about the being of God 
is everlasting. He may reprove, chasten, 
allow the darkness to linger, but He cannot 
cease to love and to serve. God did not 
begin to love and to save when Jesus died ; 
Jesus died because God had always loved. 

Let this experience of our Lord remind 
us : That the feeling that we are forsaken 
of God is usually due to physical or mental 
exhaustion : 

That many of the greatest souls of the 
ages have felt that God had forsaken them 
and, therefore, that we need not be sur- 
prised if we have similar experiences: 

That such feelings are never to be trust- 
ed. God had not forsaken Jesus and could 
[ 43 1 



Jporgafcen of <Dob! $eber! 

not do so; and He never yet forsook a 
human soul and cannot do so. 

" For a small moment have I forsaken 
thee, but with great mercies will I gather 
thee." 

The same voice that moaned: " Eloi, 
Eloi, lama sabachthani ! " in another mo- 
ment almost sang: " Father, into Thy 
hands I commend my spirit." Jesus was 
not forsaken, neither shall we be. 



[ 44 ] 



THREE questions arise when this sub- 
ject is suggested: What are Miracles? 
Why were they performed? Is belief in 
their historicity essential to the Christian 
life? 

In God's world Miracles are surely possi- 
ble; in a universe under law they are just 
as surely improbable. 

Miracles are unusual, but not, therefore, 
abnormal manifestations of divine power. 
They are not violations of Nature's laws, 
but they may be hitherto unobserved mani- 
festations of the operation of those laws. 
They are supernatural in the sense that they 
are the effect of spiritual forces, and in no 
other sense. The supernatural and the 
spiritual are identical. Miracles will be be- 
lieved in if they are supported by sufficient 
evidence, and not otherwise. All that is 
called miraculous is not equally well au- 
thenticated. It is not as easy to believe the 

[ 45 J 



story of the herd of swine as that of the 
resurrection of Jesus, because it is difficult 
to find a reason for the former, but not for 
the latter. 

Why were Miracles performed? The 
miracles of Jesus were such events as might 
have been expected from Him. He healed 
diseases and relieved suffering because He 
was able to do so; and because He was 
sensitive to human need. It was as natural 
for Him to help others as for those who 
love to be helpful now. Even His resur- 
rection was what might reasonably have 
been expected of such a being. If He ever 
performed wonders to convince men of the 
truth of what He was saying, it was only 
in exceptional cases and a concession to the 
ignorance of His hearers. People might 
have been influenced by such evidence then ; 
few intelligent persons require, or accept, 
such evidence now. 

The Miracles of Jesus were the nat- 
ural expression of His unique personality. 

1 46 ] 



Is belief in Miracles an essential element 
in the Christian experience? A Christian 
is one who possesses the spirit of Christ. 
One may have that spirit and not believe 
that the evidence for miracles is sufficient 
to prove their historicity. 

One may be a Christian and not believe 
that Miracles have been performed; but he 
who believes that anything is impossible for 
God who is Spirit is not a Christian. " The 
earth is the Lord's and the fulness there- 
of." 

Jesus did not say: Ye are my disciples if 
ye believe the story of my miracles; Jesus 
did say: " By this shall all men know that 
ye are my disciples if ye have love one to- 
ward another." 

Miracles are events to be certified by 
evidence; Christianity is life certified by 
love. 

Pure hearts, honest efforts to live right- 
eously, love for our brethren, and trust in 
the Father are essential to the Christian life. 

[ 47 ] 



^trades 

" What doth the Lord require of thee 
but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk 
humbly with thy God? " 

The Study of the Miracles of Jesus will 
always be spiritually helpful, whether they 
are regarded as historical or not. They 
are, like the Parables, revelations of eternal 
truth and as such should be jealously 
guarded. 



[ 48 ] 



Cfjrisit tfje interpreter 

NO word more accurately defines the 
work of our Lord than Interpreter. 

An Interpreter is one who makes plain 
truths which others have spoken. Thoughts 
or purposes or persons to be expounded are 
involved in the conception of an interpreter. 

Our Lord is the Interpreter of God to 
man. The idea of God is familiar, but the 
content of that idea is past finding out. 
What man could not discover, Jesus has re- 
vealed. 

He has interpreted the Deity in terms 
of humanity. He has revealed God as like 
men in personality. What is God? A 
being who thinks, who loves, who chooses, 
who acts. Jesus lived the life of God be- 
fore men. When we wish to know about 
the character of God, we can do no better 
than to study it in the earthly career of our 
Lord. He went about doing good; He 
wiped away tears and healed diseases; He 
[ 49 ] 



Cfjrtet tfje interpreter 

took little children in His arms; He de- 
nounced evil and sought ever to help others 
to be both generous and loving; He lived 
the sacrificial life. In what He was and 
did even more than in what He taught He 
revealed the nature and character of God. 

He interprets God to men as Father, as 
Saviour, as Teacher, as one who is forever 
leading them toward a glorious goal. He 
is the Light of Men — the express image of 
the Father's person. 

Jesus interprets Man to himself. Who 
shall reveal to us what we were intended to 
be? Our Lord's answer is — You were in- 
tended to be just what I am. What Jesus 
was on this earth is the revelation in terms 
of life of what all men were intended to be 
and to do. 

As Interpreter He reveals God to man 
and Man to himself. Jesus is interpreter 
because He shows in Himself the Kingdom 
of God. He was what in the plan of God 
all men in their corporate relations are 

[ 50 ] 



Cfjrfet tfje interpreter 

sometime to become. The Kingdom of 
God is the realization of righteousness in 
the life of humanity; it is the mind of 
Christ in all the institutions of men and in 
all the life of the world. When men and 
institutions are like Him, the Kingdom will 
be here. 

Because the life and the teachings of our 
Lord were condensed and culminated in the 
Cross, it is proper to say that God, man, 
history, the Kingdom of God, time, and 
eternity may be interpreted by the Cross. 
The Cross shows a Holy Person in service 
and in sacrifice for the poor and the unde- 
serving : 

The Cross shows man in process of evo- 
lution toward the perfect life aided by the 
sacrifice in which all men live and move and 
have their being: 

The Cross shows that the goal of his- 
tory — that toward which all events are 
tending — the Kingdom of God, is to be a 
society of sacrificial souls, which will some- 

[ 51 ] 



Cfjrfet tfje interpreter 

time possess and rule the earth. Jesus 
Christ is the Interpreter of God, of man, 
of history. 

In Him we see what God is, the goal to- 
ward which history is moving, and what 
man and the world are sometime to be- 
come. 

" He that hath seen Me, hath seen the 
Father." 



[ 52 ] 



draper 

ARE we forgetting how to pray ? And 
— why we should pray? These are 
vital questions. What is prayer? It is the 
means by which men hold communication 
with God. It is more like conversation 
than petition. It is important, primarily, 
because it brings into consciousness the real- 
ity of God. The realization of God is the 
condition of the finest character and the 
most heroic endeavor. The possibility of 
prayer has been the faith of all classes, con- 
ditions and periods of history. 

How may one pray or converse with the 
Spirit who pervades the universe? With 
the Infinite? We may meditate on Him, on 
what He is and on what He requires, until 
His will becomes our law. The more we 
do this, the more real He will become. The 
first thing to do when we pray is to hold 
the mind to the thought of God; and the 
second is to ask ourselves what we think to 
[ 53 1 



Praper 

be His will. In answering that question to 
ourselves God will speak to us through our 
minds, if we are perfectly honest. All an- 
swers to prayer are through human chan- 
nels. The next thing is to put away evil. 
He who cherishes evil in his heart cannot 
pray. These four acts belong in all prayer : 
Thought about God; inquiry of God who 
dwells in our own hearts as to what is the 
divine will; an honest acceptance of the 
answer to that inquiry which will usually be 
conveyed through human faculties; a reso- 
lute effort to banish evil from thought, af- 
fection and conduct. 

Why should we pray? Because it is 
good to converse with our Father; because 
in so doing we are reminded of what He 
desires for us — which is always the best 
possible ; because from thinking of Him we 
are inspired to be like Him; and finally be- 
cause in some mysterious way He gives 
power to those who seek His will. " More 
things are wrought by prayer than this 
[ 54 ] 



world dreams of." By it men are reminded 
of God; of His will for them; and in a 
real way made like Him. 

The truest prayer is the active desire to 
have the will of God done in our lives. Not 
petition, but submission to our Father, is 
the perfection of prayer. 

" And so I sometimes think 

Our prayers might well be merged in one, 
And nest and perch and hearth and church 
Repeat: 'Thy will be done.'" 

Do we pray? We should do so regu- 
larly and constantly. It is our greatest 
earthly privilege. Without it we shall fail 
in the crucial hours ; with it failure to real- 
ize the things essential to life, like submis- 
sion, strength, faith, courage, loyalty to 
duty, grace to live by and to die by, will 
be impossible. 



[ 55 ] 



SMttftcatton hp if attf) 

THIS is a doctrine around which many 
theological wars have been waged; but 
in reality it is a simple and comforting 
truth. In its final analysis it means that in 
God's world men are judged by what they 
try to do rather than by what they succeed 
in doing. The ideal rather than the 
achievement is the measure of a man's life. 
Our Father takes the will for the deed. He 
counts as good all who have set their hearts 
on being good. He who accepts the teach- 
ing and example of Jesus, and makes them 
his guide, will find that he has undertaken 
an impossible task. To reach that altitude 
is more than mortal man in his present con- 
dition can achieve. Shall he, therefore, 
conclude that the spiritual outlook for him 
is hopeless ? By no means. He should re- 
member that the personal relation between 
himself and the Father is not broken by his 
failure, because God is satisfied when He 

[ 56 ] 



purification bp JFaitf) 

sees that a man has consecrated himself to 
being right. The man cannot really fail 
who has faith in Jesus Christ, because the 
Eternal Love is on the side of all who be- 
lieve enough in righteousness to endeavor 
resolutely to do the right as it is interpreted 
by our Lord. 

God looks upon men as having succeeded 
when they have truly undertaken to follow 
Christ. Certain corollaries follow this doc- 
trine. God is pleased only with reality. 
He is satisfied with no faith which is not 
genuine. Such faith implies that the spir- 
itual goal must be kept ever in sight, even 
though it be far in the distance and be 
hedged about with many difficulties. 

No man should be disheartened because 
he is weak and often fails. While the heart 
is fixed on the Christian ideal, no one need 
be discouraged. The hope of the wisest 
and strongest, as well as of the weakest and 
vilest, is not in anything that they can do, 
but in what God is. 

[ 57 ] 



Justification by if attf) 

It is a law of the spiritual order that he 
who resolutely chooses the will of God as 
it is made known by the Great Teacher, 
from that moment shall be regarded as he 
will be regarded when he has reached the 
goal of his endeavor. 

This is the essence of the Doctrine of 
Justification by Faith. 



[ 58 1 



"Cfje^asfcmgirf Ifelt 



if 



HIS subject suggests two questions: 
What is meant by Hell? Is it really 



T 

passing? 

It was never intended that the word 
should suggest material fires. It has always 
been a symbolic word, although it has often 
been twisted to signify a physical state. In 
the New Testament three words are trans- 
lated hell; one refers to the place to which 
all human beings go at death — the place of 
the departed beyond this mortal life, but 
before the final judgment; the second refers 
to the prison to which the fallen angels 
were consigned; and the third refers to the 
state of punishment to which the wicked go 
when they enter the other world. The 
word, therefore, has one meaning in some 
passages of the New Testament, and an- 
other meaning in other passages. Each 
passage must be interpreted by itself. 

But in the popular understanding of the 
[ 59 ] 



"QZfa Passing oi CfelT 

doctrine it has always signified the inevi- 
table penalty which follows wrongdoing, in 
the realm beyond the grave. That is the 
vital part of the doctrine. Sin is followed 
by suffering both here and hereafter, but it 
will be such suffering as spirits can experi- 
ence. It will not consist of physical fire, 
but of shame, remorse, the consciousness of 
failure, the reproval of conscience. 

The teaching that Hell is a state of ma- 
terial punishment, of physical fires burning 
forever and forever, but not consuming, is 
not only going: it has gone, if it ever ex- 
isted. 

But, on the other hand, the fact that 
wrongdoing and suffering always go hand 
in hand is not losing its power. It was 
never more evident than to-day. Properly 
interpreted, the New Testament teaching 
about hell is the expression of a beneficent 
law. It is a poetic way for showing that 
sin and pain are tied together in this world 
and in all worlds, in time and in eternity, 
[ 60 ] 



"^fje Passing of tett" 

The knowledge of this fact is a blessing; 
it tends to prevent any from taking chances 
as to the future. The only safety for any 
man is in being right. It is unfortunate 
that the doctrine of Hell has been so gross- 
ly caricatured; but it would be far more un- 
fortunate for any to get the impression that 
the reality for which that severe word 
stands could ever pass away. 

Sin leads to suffering and righteousness 
leads to blessing, and they will continue 
to do so throughout the universe and in 
eternity. 

But even the fact of Hell must be in- 
terpreted in the light of the Fatherhood of 
God. It is the means which the Eternal 
Goodness uses for bringing those whose 
hearts are wrong to a state of moral purity. 
But it will not be allowed to be for a mo- 
ment in the hands of any but Omnipotent 
Love. So long as there is sin there will be 
suffering; but let us hope that sometime 
sin will cease and, therefore, that some- 
[ 61 ] 



u 



Cije Pacing of i^eU 



time Hell will no longer be needed, and 
that — 

"Not one life shall be destroyed, 
Or cast as rubbish to the void, 
Till God shall make the pile complete. ,, 



[ 62 ] 



Cfje Categorical 3lmperattoe 

EMMANUEL KANT in his treatise 
on Ethics has summarized his teaching 
in a single phrase which is called, " The 
Categorical Imperative," and which may 
be expressed as follows: So live that the 
principle of your life may be worthy of 
being made a universal law. In other 
words, each man ought to live so as to make 
his example fit for all to follow. This 
teaching of the German Philosopher sounds 
like an echo of the Golden Rule. What 
kind of a world would this world be if all 
men lived as we live? Our object, which is 
purely practical, will be still better accom- 
plished if this larger question is divided 
into smaller ones, and if these are made as 
individual as possible. Suppose all the citi- 
zens of this community were to take the 
same amount of interest in its affairs, and 
give to them the same amount of time and 

1 6 3 ] 



Cfje Categorical Smperattoe 

effort that we do, and no more, what kind 
of a community would this be ? 

Suppose that all men were to do as much 
to help the deserving poor to get work as 
we do, and no more, how many of them 
would have work? 

Suppose that all our people should give 
as much of their property, in proportion to 
their ability, to missions and to moral re- 
form, as we give, what would be the condi- 
tion of the world? 

Suppose that all who attend church, who 
are able to be prompt, should be as prompt 
in attendance as we are, and no more, 
what time would our church services 
begin? 

Suppose that all who buy and sell prop- 
erty should be as anxious that those with 
whom they deal should get their full rights 
as we are in our dealings, would there be 
more or less harmony in Society? 

Suppose that all the whites in the coun- 
try should treat the colored people as you 
[ 64 ] 



Cfje Categorical SImperattoe 

and I do, would this be a better and a hap- 
pier nation ? 

Suppose that all who profess and call 
themselves Christians should keep as near 
to the example of Jesus Christ as we do, 
would it be easier or more difficult for 
others to be Christians ? 

Suppose that all men tried to live by the 
Golden Rule as earnestly as we do, and no 
more, would brotherly love be promoted? 

Suppose that all other Christians were as 
anxious that sinners should be saved as we 
are, and no more so, how many would be 
reached by the Gospel? 

These questions bring out the meaning of 
The Categorical Imperative. Each man 
ought so to live as to make his life worthy 
to be taken as an example for all other men 
to emulate. 

If all others lived as you and I live would 
men be more generous, sincere and true ? 

Could the good Lord wisely take you or 
me as an example for others to follow? 

1 6 5 ] 



Cfje Categorical Slmperattoe 

Jesus Christ lived a life worthy to be a 
universal example; therefore we say — Fol- 
low Him. 



[ 66 ] 



^ancttftcatton 

SANCTIFICATION is a word less fre- 
quently used than formerly, but it de- 
fines a moral and spiritual state which will 
never be surpassed or superseded. Regen- 
eration refers to the beginning of what is 
known as the Christian life and Sanctifica- 
tion to the complete development of that 
life. It is not simply a moral condition, it 
is still more a spiritual state. Jesus referred 
to it when He said, " Be ye perfect even as 
your Father in Heaven is perfect." It is 
the moral and spiritual perfection which is 
implied in the double precept to love God 
with all the heart and our neighbor as our- 
self. It is more than justice, sincerity, pu- 
rity, honesty, because it also includes sub- 
mission to God, perfect trust in His Holy 
Will and obedience to His Holy Law. It 
is the realization of the teaching and ex- 
ample of Christ in the lives of other men. 
It is the goal of the personal Christian life. 

[ 6 7 ] 



^antttficatton 

It is not impossible, because it has been 
realized by our Lord who was the perfect 
Man. 

How may this state of Sanctification be 
reached? By the aid of the Holy Spirit, 
which is only another way for saying that 
the power and love of God are pledged to 
help every man who sets his face toward 
the holy life. No one who ceases to do evil 
and begins to do right, if he perseveres, 
can fail of ultimate sanctification, for he is 
sure to have Divine light, guidance and 
strength. 

Prayer has much to do with hastening the 
realization of the holy life, because prayer 
is chiefly association with and contempla- 
tion of the holy God. 

The process of deliverance from evil is 
hastened by the things which we suffer. 
Even the Christ was made perfect by suf- 
fering. By that means the bands are sev- 
ered which bind the spirit to the animal 
condition and the lower levels. Every man 
C 68 ] 



^ancttficatton 

sometime has reason to be grateful for his 
austere experiences. They show him that 
his only hope for time and for eternity is 
in God. 

Jesus prayed that His disciples might be 
sanctified in truth. He who continually 
dwells with the truth of God will easily 
escape from the fascinations of the world. 

The end toward which we are pressing is 
the perfection of God; that perfection is 
expressed so that it can be understood in the 
person and earthly career of Jesus Christ. 

It is the will of God that that state of 
sanctification should be reached by His 
children and to their help His omnipotence 
is pledged. 

Among the helps to that holy life are 
meditation on the great truths of the Gos- 
pel, prayer, and the long and sometimes 
severe discipline of the school of life. 



1 6 9 ] 



THE Kingdom of God is the condition 
toward which man in his corporate re- 
lations is moving. It is a spiritual state 
rather than a political or social institution. 
The Kingdom is simply the rule of right, 
which is always the rule of God. The task 
which Jesus undertook was that of making 
this world right, first by regenerating in- 
dividuals, and then by renewing society. 
The Kingdom is the goal of civilization. 
The Kingdom must exist in the lives of in- 
dividuals before it can take form in social 
and political institutions; it must be in- 
ternal before it can be external. 

Politically the Kingdom will be a demo- 
cratic state — a Republic of redeemed souls, 
for only in such a state can every man have 
his natural rights. This may be denied 
even there, but that will be because the dem- 
ocratic ideal is abused. A Democracy may 
[ 70 ] 



be the rule of a mob, but it makes possi- 
ble the conservation of all the rights of 
man. 

Socially the Kingdom will be the realiza- 
tion of Brotherhood. Universal Brother- 
hood is the perfect social state, because in it 
the relations between men are determined 
by love. Even a Democracy fails until in- 
dividuals appreciate the fact that they are 
brothers. When they do, contention and 
strife cease, war is unknown, and the only 
competition is that of helpfulness. 

Religiously the Kingdom is the rule of 
God in all human affairs. Legal enact- 
ments should reflect the Divine Will. The 
State should recognize that it is its duty to 
save its citizens from sin as truly as to pro- 
tect itself from invaders. Institutions, laws, 
social customs, official functions, societies, 
ought to manifest the will of God. The 
Messianic reign expressed in modern terms 
signifies the subjection of all facts, forces, 
institutions, to the Divine ideals as those 

[ 71 ] 



Cfje tagbom 

ideals are expressed and interpreted by 
Jesus Christ. 

I believe that the realization of right- 
eousness in humanity is the Kingdom of 
God; and that " when the times are ripe " 
it will include all men. 

The Kingdom of God is the goal of the 
creation. It is the end toward which events 
are moving. It is the state in which men do 
the will of God so far as that will is made 
known to them. It is to be realized prima- 
rily on the earth — but it will extend into the 
future and endure forever. The phrase 
had a local meaning among the Hebrews, 
but never any meaning which did not have 
at its heart righteousness in individuals and 
in society. 

This is what Jesus meant by being per- 
fect as your Father which is in heaven is 
perfect. 

The Kingdom already exists as an ideal; 
it does not yet pervade the life of humanity. 
When it does men will be honest, pure, just, 

1 72 ] 



brotherly; and injustice, oppression, race- 
prejudice, the tyranny of wealth, and na- 
tional exclusiveness will disappear, and love 
will be universal. 

The triumph of the Kingdom is far in 
the future. The Golden Rule is not yet the 
law of human life, and few men love one 
another as our Lord loved men ; but some- 
time this Kingdom will include the entire 
human race. Of this we are confident be- 
cause God is love; and He is omnipo- 
tent. Omnipotent Love cannot forever be 
thwarted. 

But when will that consummation become 
a reality? Not until " the times are ripe " ; 
not until the last vestige of animalism has 
gone; not until the Spirit has become su- 
preme. 

Before that day dawns, pain and suffer- 
ing must do their work; the passions must 
be eliminated and the vision and the affec- 
tions perfected. That may require ages of 
discipline or of evolution — but the process 

[ 73 1 



Cfce fetngbom 

will go on to completion. The Kingdom 
of God is the perfect Social State which 
was predicted by Plato in the Imaginary 
Republic, by Lord Bacon in the " New 
Atlantis, " and by Sir Thomas More in 
" Utopia." They were dreams; it will 
some day be reality. 

In helping to promote the Kingdom of 
God, Jesus Christ lived and died; for it 
missionaries have toiled and martyrs have 
shed their blood; to hasten its triumph the 
church exists; and for that glad event all 
who love truth and right should unceasingly 
pray and tirelessly labor. 

Our Father which art in heaven, Thy 
Kingdom Come! 



[ 74 ] 



Cfje Cfjurtf) 

THE Church is the society of the fol- 
lowers of Jesus Christ. It has been 
called the society of those who have the 
divine life. It has also been called " The 
Continued Incarnation." Church is a word 
seldom used by our Lord. It occurs but 
twice in the Gospels. With Jesus the great 
word was kingdom; with the disciples the 
great word was Church. The Kingdom of 
God is the goal toward which all things are 
moving. It is the rule of God in the lives 
and hearts of men. The Church is the di- 
vinely ordered means for the realization of 
that end. It exists to continue the work of 
Christ. Jesus emphasized the object which 
He came to accomplish — to make men per- 
fect as God is perfect. The disciples, on 
the other hand, emphasized the agency by 
which the object was to become a reality. 
The Church is a Divine institution, because 
it was instituted solely to promote the King- 
[ 75 ] 



Cfje Cfmrci) 

dom of God. Other institutions, both di- 
rectly and indirectly, help that kingdom, 
but the Church has no other reason for its 
existence. 

The Church is the brotherhood of those 
who have but one object — to make the 
Kingdom of God prevail. 

Why is the Church needed? Because the 
kingdom can be best advanced by means of 
the united efforts, intelligence and conse- 
crated wisdom of all who believe in right- 
eousness and truth. The Church is called 
an army; it is an army in the sense that it 
is composed of those who are seeking to 
overcome evil and establish the reign of 
truth and love. 

Why ought all Christians to become 
members of the Church ? Because all who 
believe in God and in His Kingdom should 
give the influence of their endeavor and 
their example to advancing God's rule 
among men; because all who are followers 
of Jesus Christ ought to esteem it a privi- 
[ 76 ] 



Cfje Cfmrcfj 

lege to be known as co-workers with Him ; 
because those who are openly committed to 
a good cause are made stronger themselves, 
and their efforts are made more effective 
by a frank avowal of their sympathy; be- 
cause it is the only manly course to pursue ; 
because the followers of Jesus Christ ought 
to be glad to do this work and to bear His 
name; because it is the greatest of earthly 
privileges to be permitted to cooperate with 
Him in hastening the triumph of righteous- 
ness and love among individuals and in all 
the life of humanity. 



[ 77 ] 



<®i)t *|olp Spirit 

THE Holy Spirit is the one God, who 
is Spirit, in relation to the life and 
thought of men. He is God revealing 
truth, inspiring thought, and impelling to 
action. The doctrine of the Father con- 
tains the revelation of the essential nature 
of the Deity; the doctrine of the Son shows 
that the Deity continually manifests His 
nature in His dealings with humanity; the 
doctrine of the Holy Spirit refers to the 
Deity in action — revealing, inspiring, im- 
pelling, protecting. It implies that God is 
continually active in the lives of men and 
in the affairs of the universe ; that the Deity 
is the vital power in the life of every man; 
and that all that is noble and good is the 
expression of that power. 

How does God, who is Spirit, become 
efficient in human affairs? It is a matter 
for individual choice. Whenever a man 
chooses to conform to the conditions, he 

[ 78 ] 



realizes the presence of the Holy Spirit. It 
is God's will that men should be holy as 
He is holy; and when men choose to be 
pure, honest, brave and true, the Divine 
Power helps them. 

God cooperates with men by using their 
natural faculties. Inspiration is God stim- 
ulating the mind so that it thinks more vig- 
orously; revelation is God making known 
to the mind by means of language or action 
truths of which it would otherwise be igno- 
rant. Because God is the Author of all 
goodness we ascribe to the agency of the 
Holy Spirit all revivals of religion, all fresh 
desires in individuals to be Godlike, all 
warnings against evil, all aspirations to- 
ward virtue and truth. Because it contains 
the revelations and the results of inspira- 
tions, we say that the Holy Spirit is the 
Author of the Bible; because all goodness 
and love are from God, we say that all 
efforts toward the higher life are inspired 
by the Spirit of God; because good men are 
[ 79 ] 



Cfje ^oty spirit 

Godlike men, we speak of them as moved 
by the Spirit of God. 

The Holy Spirit is the constant factor in 
the life of men and in the development of 
history. He has never been nearer to one 
time or to one place than to another. He 
has inspired men and revealed truth when- 
ever and wherever they have opened their 
hearts to Him. He adapts His ministries 
to those through whom He has to work. 
He makes one a poet like David, one a 
preacher like Paul, one a missionary like 
Livingstone. He inspires some to be heroes 
like the martyrs who died for their faith, 
and others to love with divine love like our 
mothers. He is with artists and artisans, 
mechanics and millionaires, with the aged 
and the children. The power of the Spirit 
has been manifested in all lands and times; 
it is like those winds which always blow in 
one direction and which every mariner may 
use by properly adjusting his sails. 

The Spirit of God is the same yesterday, 

[ so ] 



Cfje ^oip Spirit 

to-day and forever. It is efficient with all 
who have open minds, pure hearts and 
obedient wills. It is God realizing Him- 
self in the life of man and throughout the 
universe. He uses human agencies and 
human faculties. He is slowly but surely 
binding all men and all nations by gold 
chains to the throne of God. 



[ 81 ] 



Conscience 

EVERY man carries within himself 
from youth to old age the conscious- 
ness that he ought to do right and ought 
not to do wrong. There are wide differ- 
ences of opinion as to what is right, but 
none as to the fact of the ought and ought 
not. That feeling of ought and ought not 
is called conscience. It is found in all men ; 
it is a universal and ultimate fact. There 
are many theories as to the genesis of con- 
science, but harmony as to the reality. So 
widespread is this phenomenon that if a 
person were to be found without any moral 
sense his sanity would be doubted. 

What gives conscience its authority? It 
represents God in the life of man. If God 
were to speak to man He would say, " You 
ought to do right; you ought not to do 
wrong." Conscience is the voice of God 
in the soul of man. This fact gives to it its 
authority. 

1 82 ] 



Conscience 

But how can it fairly be called the voice 
of God when in one land and time it ap- 
proves what another land and time con- 
demns? The question as to what is right 
and what is wrong is relative to time and 
place. What is right and what is duty are 
subjects for inquiry. Fuller knowledge may 
prove that to be wrong which had been sup- 
posed to be right; but no amount of study 
can modify the fact that all ought to do 
right and to avoid the wrong. Ideals 
change with time and place; but from the 
first until now man has recognized that he 
should do what, in the use of the clearest 
light, has seemed to be right. 

What is the difference between conscience 
and the Holy Spirit? Conscience is the 
more limited word. The Holy Spirit ap- 
plies to all the infinite suggestion, inspira- 
tion and revelation of God. Conscience 
tells how a man should act in view of what 
God has done and what man may do. 
There is but one note in all the music of 

c 8 3 ] 



Conscience 

conscience. Monotonously and forever it 
seems to sing: " This is right. This is 
wrong. Do right; do right; do right." 
Conscience is one mode of the Holy Spirit's 
activity. 

Conscience is not infallible, but it ought 
always to be obeyed. He who obeys with 
little light will not be found wanting in the 
clearer light. But while men always ought 
to obey conscience they ought also to re- 
member that the collective conscience is 
more likely to be right than that of the in- 
dividual. While every man should be loyal 
to right, as he understands it, he ought, 
above all things, to use all possible means 
to determine what right is. It is important 
that we be loyal to truth and duty ; but even 
then we shall fail of the best achievement 
unless we have correct ideals of truth and 
duty. Pride and prejudice may be mistaken 
for conscience; but when conscience is illu- 
minated by knowledge it is not only obliga- 
tory but also infallible. 
[ 84 ] 



THE Lord's Day is also Man's Day. 
The authority for its observance is 
human need. " The Sabbath was made for 
man, not man for the Sabbath." Because 
man's interests require it, the fourth com- 
mandment was written. It is not arbitrary, 
but has its justification in the nature of man 
and the order of society. The Lord's Day 
should be jealously guarded for two rea- 
sons; viz., Man needs the day for physical 
rest, and he needs it for spiritual renewal. 

Experience has proved that one day in 
seven should be reserved for rest. What 
we need others need; and what we reserve 
for ourselves we should insist on being re- 
served for all others. 

But the spiritual nature is quite as real as 
the physical nature and its demands quite 
as imperative. 

In order that the spiritual nature may 
grow and be healthy and vigorous, 

[ 8 5 j 



Cfje Uorb'sf Pap 

it should be regularly and continuously 
brought face to face with the eternal ver- 
ities. 

We need to dwell much with God : 

We need to be reminded that we are 
spirits : 

We should be made to realize that we 
are in a moral order; and that what a man 
sows that shall he reap : 

We need to be taught to discriminate be- 
tween the things which are right and those 
which are wrong: 

We need time to meditate on spiritual 
truths : 

We need to be made to realize that we 
are immortal : 

We need to prepare for eternity as well 
as for time : 

In short, the spirit needs culture and dis- 
cipline even more than the body, which is 
but the garment of the spirit. 

To the end that the Spirit may have time 
for communion with the Father of Spirits, 
[ 86 ] 



and may have opportunity for growth, it 
has been written in the nature of things, in 
the soul of man and in the Bible, that one 
seventh of our time should be set 
apart for physical recreation and spir- 
itual growth. Concerning these facts we 
observe : 

The time is none too long: 

Careful testing has proved that it is all 
needed: 

Social amusements and physical exercise 
cannot take the place of meditation and 
prayer as means of spiritual growth: 

That man is not wise who uses his Sun- 
days for bodily recreation and neglects 
prayer and the church, because the nurture 
of the spirit is the most sacred and im- 
portant of duties. 

However you spend Sunday — 

Make sure that you preserve time for 
church attendance and for reading the 
Bible and prayer: 

Make sure that you do not seek pleasures 

1 8 7 ] 



that rob others of their time to rest and 
pray: 

Ask what way of spending Sunday will 
make you the best possible man and con- 
tribute most toward making this the best 
possible world. 



[ 88 ] 



3d Cfjrfetma* 31nterlube 

ONE of the most significant facts of 
modern history is the observance of 
Christmas. It is a testimony to the unique 
character of Jesus Christ and to the readi- 
ness of the world for such a message and 
such a ministry as He has brought. For one 
day in the year the selfish characteristics of 
men are laid aside, and all the music of 
their lives is tuned to love and peace. 
Those who often reject His claims rejoice 
in being like Him for at least one day. If 
for one day, why not for all the days? If 
He brings harmony for one hour, why is 
He not allowed continual supremacy? 
What would this world be if there were a 
perpetual Christmas? A month ago the 
social confusion was like that of an orches- 
tra in which each instrument was clashing 
with every other. Cruelty, injustice, un- 
kindness, selfishness, pervaded society. The 
poor denounced the rich, and sometimes the 

[ 8 9 ] 



M Cfjrtetma* Jnterlufcre 

rich ignored the poor. Priests and Levites 
outnumbered Good Samaritans. But with 
Christmas Eve it seemed as if this earth 
had suddenly swung from winter into sum- 
mer, and every one began to try to rival his 
neighbor in brotherliness. What a tribute 
to our Master ! What a recognition of His 
essential divinity ; for nothing less than di- 
vine power could work such transforma- 
tions. Millions who ignore Him at other 
times bow before Jesus Christ for one day 
in the year. That prophetic fact will shine 
through the old, unseemly strife which all 
too soon will begin again. 

We have celebrated Christmas and we 
are facing the New Year. This is symboli- 
cal. The joy with which the old year ends 
should fill all the spaces of the New Year. 
Many of you are toiling with weary hands 
and marching with aching feet. Sadness is 
mixed with your joy and tears mingle with 
your smiles; but the sadness is temporary 
and belongs to our present condition, while 

[ 90 ] 



31 Cfjrtetma* Slnterlube 

the joy will expand more and more until 
the perfect day. The Man who came out 
of the heart of humanity with a message of 
love and victory, of whose wondrous works 
we are all witnesses, who was the Word of 
God, is the pledge that sometime all the 
days shall be like Christmas Day; and the 
earth of warfare and sorrow, of storm and 
blood, become the earth of the Redemption. 
In this faith let us praise God for the 
memories and ministries of the Christmas 
that is past, and then confidently and gladly 
turn toward the New Year, and the New 
Years which are to be. 



[ 91 ] 



JLintQln'X ^trtfjfcrap 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN was espe- 
cially distinguished by two facts. 

He was an original creation. He can be 
accounted for neither by heredity nor en- 
vironment. He had no university training. 
Like the Bible, he seems to have come out 
of the heart of Nature. His teachers were 
the mountains and the forests, the rivers 
and the lakes, Shakespeare and the Hebrew 
Prophets. He is an example of the way 
God raises up men for supreme emer- 
gencies. He has been regarded by others 
as well as by Americans as the greatest man 
of his age and race. He belonged to the 
world rather than to any one country. 

Abraham Lincoln was also distinguished 
by his magnanimity. He was not only 
large enough to achieve ; he was also large 
enough to forgive. He forgave those who 
had lifted their hands against the Nation. 
He had learned to pray the prayer of Jesus: 
[ 92 ] 



Hmcoln'g 2ftrti)bap 

11 Father, forgive them, for they know not 
what they do." He loved his enemies. He 
looked into the hearts of the people of the 
South and saw that they were loyal to what 
they believed to be true and right. 

No Confederate leader was punished. 
This is without parallel in history. Those 
whom others would have executed as crim- 
inals, he treated as brothers. The result is 
a united nation. Slavery is gone, bitterness 
is disappearing and the Union is one for- 
evermore. 

Lincoln was great as a statesman, great 
as an orator, greater still as a man. He 
showed to the world an example of one 
who could lead one side of a bitter strife 
11 with malice toward none and with charity 
toward all." 

Our children and our children's children 
shall praise him. 



[ 93 ] 



^acatton* 

THERE is a reason why vacations are 
usually taken in the summer. It is 
difficult to work in the heat. Nature says 
emphatically, it is not well for men to work 
when it is too hot. Many, however, do not 
seem to understand that Nature speaks with 
equal emphasis when she says: It is not 
well for men to work all the time. A pop- 
ular saying runs as follows : " Most men 
can do twelve months' work in eleven 
months, and keep well ; but no man can do 
twelve months' work in twelve months and 
retain his strength." The voice of Nature 
is the voice of God. Both Nature and the 
Bible forcibly teach that all persons need 
frequent recreation. The institution and 
influence of the Sabbath indicate that. 

Man needs a vacation for his physical 
nature. No machine can run on forever 
without wearing out, and the human ma- 
chine is no exception. After much exertion 
[ 94 ] 



testations 

we become exhausted; then the quality of 
the work begins to deteriorate. No man 
can do his best work when he is tired. The 
hand commences to tremble, the nerves as- 
sert themselves, and the eye is not so 
steady. " I never take a vacation," said a 
business man to a young friend of his. 
That was when the former was forty years 
old. Before he was fifty he was forced to 
take one which has lasted now for nearly 
twenty-five years. The body needs rest and 
recreation. Those who forget or neglect 
that fact do so at their peril. 

The intellect needs a vacation. As the 
soil should have periods for lying fallow, 
so the mind should have times of inaction. 
The wise man never attempts important 
duties when his body is weary and his 
nerves worn. " Colors seen by candle- 
light," says Mrs. Browning, " do not look 
the same by day." Everything seems askew 
when men are worn with labor. Rest re- 
news like a bath. Burdens which seem too 

[ 95 ] 



Vacations; 

heavy to be borne at night, are easily car- 
ried in the morning. Problems which seem 
insoluble at the beginning of the summer 
are easily solved in the middle of the au- 
tumn. We think more clearly, act more 
wisely, enjoy more intensely and do more 
and better work after rest than before. 

The moral nature needs the reinforce- 
ment of bodily rest. I have often noticed 
that the officers of our Church, the pastor 
among them, were irritable and unreason- 
able as the year drew to an end, and that 
the burdens which irritated seemed as 
nothing after a few weeks by the seaside 
or among the hills. When we are worn and 
weary we are apt to be quick-tempered, un- 
just in judgments, harsh in speech, unrea- 
sonable in action. Many are blamed for 
their inconsistencies when they are only 
tired. Many think their Christian life is a 
failure, when all they need is a good long 
sleep. Vacations are a means of grace — 
sometimes more important than sermons or 

1 96 1 



Vacation* 

preludes. Faith droops, love grows cold 
and service wanes, all because the body has 
lost its vigor. Nervousness and weariness 
are practically synonymous, 

Because I believe in good health for the 
body, in sane thinking for the intellect, in 
faith, in hope and love for the soul, I be- 
lieve in vacations. 

Some one says periods of rest are desir- 
able, but how can I get them? The prob- 
lem is sometimes difficult, but one thing at 
least may be said: The employer of labor 
who does not recognize their importance, is 
a robber of his fellow-men ; and he who can 
rest and does not, deserves the sufferings he 
will surely get. 

We ought to take vacations and use 
them, as conscientiously and religiously as 
we perform all other duties. If a man will 
not rest, neither shall he be well. If a man 
will not rest, neither shall he do a full 
man's work in this world of ours. 

P.S. It must not be forgotten that this 
prelude applies to women as well as to men. 

[ 97 3 



a Wovh to <0rabuateg 

THERE are three things which I 
would like to have our graduates re- 
member. 

Education is primarily a means of 
growth for the soul. He has not used his 
opportunities wisely who is not both 
stronger and better for the school and the 
college. It is sometimes cynically asked, 
Why do young people attend school and col- 
lege? Is it for amusement or for culture? 
It is primarily for development and refine- 
ment of soul. He who has studied as he 
ought to study, will be able to see more 
clearly, to think more wisely, and to act 
more efficiently than would otherwise have 
been possible. Growth means power — 
power to see, power to act, power to think, 
power to achieve. Education is worth 
while only as it ministers to growth of the 
intellectual and moral faculties. 

Education is for knowledge. Life is 
[ 98 ] 



31 Wovh to OSrafcruateg 

short and the universe is infinite; but little 
of it may be discovered at best. No man 
can be happy or useful without understand- 
ing something of his relation to his fellow- 
men and to his unseen environment. Why 
do we live ? Why do we grow old ? Why 
do we suffer and die? What lies beyond 
us? What is our relation to the invisible, 
and to the beings who may dwell therein? 
Some answer is imperative. The educated 
man is best fitted to find the answer to the 
deepest interrogations of the soul. 

Education is for service. 

A man who thinks is instantly faced by 
tasks which need to be performed. Few 
conditions are yet as they should be. Gov- 
ernment is badly administered; corruption 
prevails where least expected. The State 
needs men who can rule, and dare not lie. 
Nothing will ever grow better if it is left 
to haphazard and to chance. There is a 
call for men who love the cities in which 
they live and the towns in which their lot 

[ 99 1 



31 Wovh to <$rabuates 

is cast. We are crowded by the poor, the 
ignorant, the vicious and the unfortunate. 
Some one must lend a hand to those who 
are down, or vice and crime, tears and 
heartache will multiply. The cry for those 
who are bent on serving humanity was 
never louder or more insistent than now. 
It comes from the state, from the commu- 
nity and from individuals. Growth which is 
for itself alone, is selfish ; knowledge which 
is simply for satisfying curiosity, is worse 
than useless. Of what value is it to be 
able to trace the course along which the 
constellations move, if such ability is made 
to serve no beneficent purpose ? 

Education is for growth, but growth is 
for service. Education is for knowledge, 
but knowledge should be used for the wel- 
fare of man. It was said of the greatest 
and best of men, " He went about doing 
good." Wellesley College has well taken 
for its motto, " Not to be ministered unto, 
but to minister." The man or woman who 
[ ioo ] 



31 Wovh to OSrabuates 

graduates from school or college and is 
selfish, is a reproach to the institution whose 
name he bears; but those who recognize 
that what they have received is an ordina- 
tion to the service of humanity, honor their 
Alma Mater and are a blessing to their 
race. 

I greet the young men and young women 
who graduate from school and from col- 
lege. They come to us with hope in their 
hearts and sunlight on their faces. I wish 
them all the blessings for which their souls 
are longing. I beg them not to forget that 
their training will be to their credit, only 
as they remember that education is for 
growth, for knowledge and for service. 



[ ioi ] 



B Woxh to tfje Cfctlbren 

IN The Bonnie Briar Bush is a story 
entitled "His Mother's Sermon." A 
mother just before she died, as her last 
charge, said to her son, who was to be a 
minister, " Speak a good word for Jesus 
Christ, my boy." Five years later the 
young man was ready for his work. The 
day before he was to preach his first ser- 
mon he was talking with his aunt, who had 
long been like a mother to him. She heard 
what he said and then, with beautiful sim- 
plicity and great earnestness, repeated to 
him his mother's words, " Speak a good 
word for Jesus Christ, my lad; speak a 
good word for Jesus Christ." 

I want to speak to you this morning a 
word about Jesus Christ. And why? Be- 
cause we need to know Him for the reason 
that as no other person who ever lived He 
shows us what God is, and how to please 
Him. 

[ 102 ] 



M Wovh to tfje Cfnlbren 

Two men were once standing by a build- 
ing on which had climbed a little boy who 
was afraid to get down. Looking up at 
him, one man opened his arms and, with 
a kind voice, said, " Jump, my little fel- 
low, and I will catch you." But the boy 
shrank back and would not jump. Then 
the other man opened his arms and said, 
" Come, my boy, jump, and I will catch 
you." Instantly the little face cleared, a 
smile chased away the tears and with a 
rush he jumped and was safely caught in 
the outstretched arms. Why was the boy 
afraid of one man and willing to trust the 
other? Because the first man was a stranger 
and the second man was his father. He 
knew his father would not let him fall. 
Jesus Christ, as no one else ever did, has 
shown men that God is Father, and that 
no one ever need be afraid of anything but 
of doing wrong. For this reason we should 
continually study His words. When we 
are well and when we are sick our Father 
[ 103 ] 



a Wovh to tfce Cfjtlbren 

cares for us ; when we do right our Father 
is pleased ; when we get lost, our Father will 
seek for us until He finds us. In life and 
in death our Father is near us. 

And then Jesus told us how to please 
God. Follow me! That means that we 
should do as we think Jesus would do if 
He were where we are. No one will ever 
get far out of the right way if he will al- 
ways try to follow Jesus. Those who fol- 
low Him in what they do and in what they 
think please God. 

My dear children, keep near to Jesus 
Christ because He shows us that God is our 
Heavenly Father, and then shows us how 
to please Him. 



[ 104 ] 



Cfje Oftierlasittng 3ta$ 

THE Everlasting Arms ! What do the 
words signify? The all-encircling 
love of God. The word " God M is fathom- 
less, but whatever its significance, it means 
that at the heart of the universe are per- 
sonality and personal love. 

The Everlasting Arms! Love enfolds 
all persons and all things. 

What is the application of this truth? 
Each individual, in spite of what seems to 
contradict, is in a beneficent plan. All 
events are moving toward a consummation 
of blessing. I cannot prove this, but it is 
the only rational explanation of life and 
history. Sometime it will be seen that each 
tear, each throb of pain, each thrill of joy, 
each dark day, each moment of sunlight, 
all life, even death, are hastening a better 
time. 

We are all in the Everlasting Arms; that 
is, within the sweep of a loving purpose; 

t 105 ] 



that purpose includes good and bad, Chris- 
tian and Heathen, those who succeed and 
those who fail, the man of poverty and the 
man of wealth. 

Sometime and somehow all that seems 
failure and loss, as well as all that is joyous 
and glad, shall be found to have helped 
toward perfection of character and the 
realization of harmony. 

The Everlasting Arms! Love is now 
and will forever be the Sovereign of the 
Universe. 



[ 1.06 ] 



praper 

44/^\UR Father, we have wandered far 
V^/ from the fold protected by Thy 
love, but we cannot get beyond Thy love 
itself. We humbly confess that we are not 
worthy to receive anything from Thy hand, 
and yet we commit ourselves to Thee and 
trust that Thou wilt not fail us. We pray 
Thee that Thou wilt kindle the flame of 
our love at the altar of Thy love. May 
Thy will be done in us and through us. In 
the day and in the night give Thine angels 
charge over us. Fill us with a great desire 
to be like Thy Son, our Saviour Jesus 
Christ. Watch over us during all our 
years on earth, and when we are called 
hence may it be with the assurance that 
Thou wilt not leave us in that hour, but 
wilt Thyself receive us into our Father's 
House, which is eternal in the heavens. 
These blessings we ask of Thy great love 
as it is revealed in Jesus Christ our Good 
Shepherd. Amen." 

[ 107 ] 



NOV 27 1911 



Cfje OBtft of Hobe 

TT OVE gilds the horizon of Child- 
r*" hood; Love leads all men from 
Youth to Old Age; Love is the Essence 
of Friendship; Love is the Soul of Self- 
Sacrifice; Love is the inspiration of 
Generosity. 

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law; 
Love is the Beauty of Holiness; Love 
is the Nature of God; Love was incar- 
nate in the Christ; Love Never Faileth; 
Love is the Glory of Christmas. 



I wish you the joy of Loving and of being 
Loved. 



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Cfje 2?e£t of Cfjristmag 
<6tft£ 

What Would I Give Thee? 

I^aEALTH and wealth and many 
*c happy years? Strength for work 
and time for rest and thought? A 
home which has no cloud and friends 
who never fail ? 

Because I love thee — these and more 
than these: A Conscience without stain, 
a Spirit that is at peace with all; a 
Heart that trusts in God and loves one's 
fellow-men; a Faith that outlives death 
and walks serene in heaven. 

May this best of Christmas Gifts he 
Thine. 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 
NOV Zt Iff! 



